


Lonely Hearts

by melissa13



Series: Lonely Hearts [2]
Category: Vampire Diaries (TV), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Character Turned Into Vampire, Drama, F/M, Mild Gore, Romance, Young Justice/Vampire Diaries Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-13
Updated: 2012-11-18
Packaged: 2017-11-18 14:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/561846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melissa13/pseuds/melissa13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spitfire crossover fic. Basically a vampire AU. In 1921, Wally West meets the beautiful but mysterious Artemis Crock, and his life is never the same again. </p>
<p>References to characters from the TV show The Vampire Diaries, but not entirely necessary to know much about the show.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: So, this is my Young Justice/The Vampire Diaries crossover fic that was inspired by my prompt fic Undying Hearts, which you can find a link to in my profile. You can read it before this one but it's not necessary. This has sort of turned into a monster, but it's been really fun to write and I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you think! :)
> 
> Sidenote: Again, you don't have to know too much about the Vampire Diaries to read this. Since Wally doesn't know much about the Salvatore brothers, you'll find out along the way with him :)

**Part One**

The year was 1921, and the place was the Big Apple, New York City. It was a time of glitz and glamour, but also of spirits and secrets; and most important of all, spirits in secret. As one of the bartenders at the popular speakeasy Club 21, Wally West had a front row seat to the rich and the famous, the drunk and the dangerous, and everyone in between. He'd come to the city from a small town out West, to seek his fortune in whatever way he could, but he'd soon found that the American dream wasn't all that attainable as they said it was in the papers. His landlord was a good guy and had connected him with a friend of his that worked at Club 21, and it wasn't long before Wally found himself tending bar at the speakeasy.

He was the perfect bartender; a friendly fellow, just shy of being 23, he knew how to get people to open up, get a little tanked, and have some fun. He flirted with the women, shot the shit with the men, and didn't stick his nose in any business that wasn't his. It was a lonely existence, his, but he was mostly content in it. Until the day that she walked in, that is.

She wasn't the prettiest dame to ever grace the place, nor the sharpest dressed, and yet every male eye in the room seemed to gravitate towards her. She smirked, as if she knew what was on all of their minds, but talked to no one as she headed straight for the bar.

Wally gulped, hands occupied with wiping down a dirty glass, as she sidled right over to him, gracefully seating herself on one of the bar stools. Her piercing grey eyes were scanning the room, possibly looking for someone. Up close, Wally could see that she was a stunner. Perfectly coiffed blond hair, although she wore is much longer than the current shorter styles he usually saw. Painted red lips pursed as she turned sharply to look at him, raising a challenging eyebrow.

He cleared throat. "What can I get for you, doll?"

"Sidecar," she told him, taking out her compact and checking her makeup.

"Ah, now, you didn't say the magic words, babe," he chided her. He would normally never cheek his customers like that, but there was something about the dame that captured his attention. And he didn't like being ignored.

She was not amused by him, however. "Sidecar, now, before I slap that sappy grin off your face."

Wally raised his eyebrows in surprise, but set about making the girl's drink. He rested it in front of her, but couldn't bring himself to move away. It was something in her eyes. He'd seen a lot of lonely people walk in and out of Club 21 over the years, most just looking to take the edge off with a little (or a lot) of bootleg, but in this dame's eyes there was a whole different measure of sadness. She seemed weary beyond her years as she picked up her drink and took a sip.

"What's eating you, doll?" he asked, idly running a rag over the bar. The joint was pretty slow that night and Johnny, the other bartender, was more than capable of picking up any of his slack.

"Can you stop with the pet names?" the blonde asked, rolling her eyes.

"As soon as I get that name of yours, sweet cheeks," he told her, throwing her a wink. He was gratified to see her lips twitch into what he would count as a smile. She surveyed him over her drink, sizing him up.

"Artemis," she finally said.

"Howdy do, Artemis, Wallace West at your service," he introduced himself. "Friends call me Wally."

He proffered a hand to her to shake and she stared at it for a long moment before taking it demurely. The satin of her glove felt rough against his hand and Wally noticed that her clothes weren't as elegant as he'd originally thought. A little shabby really, and while her own natural beauty had caught his attention first, it was apparent to him that she wasn't very well off. He wondered if he was like so many other desperate dames, coming to Club 21 looking for a sugar daddy. He wasn't going to deny that he hoped that wasn't the case with her.

"So, I ain't seen you around here before, Artemis," Wally said, as she retracted her hand. "This your first time in the big city?"

"No, not my first," she replied. Wally noticed her smirk to herself, as if she was sharing a private joke. She didn't elaborate.

"Well, what brings you here?" he asked, growing more curious by the second. He could tell she wasn't a natural born New Yorker by her accent, but couldn't actually place where her accent was from.

"Do you punch the bag with all your customers, or am I just lucky?" she drawled, circling her finger around the rim of her glass.

He laughed aloud, genuinely amused that she had called him out. "Hey, small talk is part of my job description, babe."

"I thought you agreed to cut it out with the nicknames," she said in that husky little voice of hers. Wally thought he saw something flash across her eyes, but it was gone within a second.

"I'm just looking for you to level with me, Artemis," he told her. "You walked in here like a bird on a mission. Maybe I can help you."

She looked at him skeptically, but her interest had been piqued. "You feedin' me a line?" she asked him.

"Nope," he said in all honesty. "So long as it don't concern any of my patrons somewhat questionable activities, of which I don't know from nothing, than we're square."

Artemis narrowed her eyes at him before decided that he was trustworthy enough. She slid one hand into her clutch and pulled out two small photos, sliding them across the bar towards him. "All right, have you seen either of these two fellas?"

He plucked the pictures up and studied them carefully in turn. Each was a photo of a young man, both probably a little bit older than Wally. No light bulbs went off in his head at either of their pictures, although he did feel something akin to jealous at the thought of one of them being this dame's beau.

"Can't say I have," he told her. "They got names?"

She looked crestfallen at his response. "The one on the right is Damon Salvatore, and the other is his brother Stefan."

He knew a lot of Salvatores that frequented their juice joint, but he'd never heard of these two. "Names ain't ringing any bells, Miss Artemis, sorry."

She wilted, her tough shell cracking a bit. "It's all right," she whispered, for once not chastising him for his use of the pet name. He could only just hear her above the jazz music blasting. "I've tried every joint in the city. Who the hell knows, they're probably not even in New York."

Wally looked at her in concern while she downed the rest of her sidecar in one go. The lady was scouring the city for two fellas that might not even be there? How long had she been out here looking? And she was on her own? It wasn't safe for a gal to be walking around the city streets at night by themselves, that Wally knew. It wasn't just the gangsters and other petty criminals you had to watch out for. There were coppers out there these days who were just as corrupt and malicious.

"You got a place to stay?" Wally asked in what he hoped was a nonchalant way. Maybe her clothes weren't an actual representation of how much dough she had. He thought of any number of decent hotels in the area that he hoped she would say.

"I've got a room tonight at the Johnson down the street."

That was not what he wanted to hear. "What?" he sputtered, losing his nonchalant demeanor. "You can't stay there!"

She arched a dark eyebrow at him. "And why not?"

"That place's a death sentence for any Jane, let alone you," he tried to explain. "It's a seedy joint."

"I can handle myself," she said in such a confident voice that he believed her. Which is why what he said next was completely unnecessary.

"Stay at my place," he blurted out before he could stop himself.

"What?" she asked, looking at him like he was nuts, and maybe he was for suggesting that some bird he'd just met stay the night at his digs, but as the idea started to sink in, he couldn't shake it.

"Look, sweetheart, I know I wouldn't get a wink of sleep tonight thinking about a pretty little thing like you all alone at the Johnson," Wally said. "My apartment ain't the Ritz, that's for sure, but at least it's safe."

Her grey eyes narrowed at him. The alcohol didn't seem to affect her at all as her pupils weren't dilated nor her cheeks at all flushed. "You trying to get lucky with me tonight or something?" she asked. "You think that if you let me stay at yours, I'll fall into the sack with you?"

Wally's eyes widened almost comically. Did he really look like that type? Sure, he'd been with a few women, mostly back home, but he didn't treat them like most fellas did, like they were objects or prizes to be won. He hadn't asked her to stay over in return for anything, he'd just done it because it was the right thing to do.

"I'm wounded, Miss Artemis," he said, crossing a hand over his heart. "You got me pegged all wrong. I ain't some sort of cake-eater, if that's what you're thinkin'. You seemed to me like a gal down on her luck, and I'm just tryin' to offer you a helping hand."

He could see the indecision in her eyes, but somehow he knew it wasn't because she was wary of him or his intentions. She seemed to be having an internal battle with herself, and he really didn't want to pressure her into making a decision. There were also quite a few more people at the bar that had come up and were impatiently waiting to be tended to.

"Think it over," he told her. "If you're interested, meet me back here at 2 o'clock with your things and we'll hightail it back to my place so you can get a good night's sleep and continue your search tomorrow." He shrugged. "Choice is yours."

He ambled away, pointing at some slick fella in a fedora keen to get his drink on. The night continued rapidly from that point, although he kept on eye on Artemis, refreshing her drink a few times. The dame gave no indication that she even had a slight edge, and he figured maybe she was just used to the drink. He watched from the corner of his eye as a few cake-eaters tried to pick her up, but after a few moments of talking to her, they magically seemed to disappear. He thought he saw her eye Johnny sharply when he cut his hand on a piece of glass, but he must have imagined it. A little past midnight she called him over to pay out her tab, but he waved her money away.

"It's on me tonight, babe," he told her, leaning against the bar.

She looked grateful and tucked her bills away. After a brief moment of considering him, she said, "At least allow me to give you a tip," before leaning over and placing her lips on his cheek.

He was struck by how cold her lips were, even as he was mentally flipping his lid. They were as cold as ice and made his cheek tingle.

"See you at 2," she whispered in his ear, before pulling away. She turned and strutted out of the joint and, as with her entrance, almost every male eye in the place followed her.

Wally swallowed harshly. Maybe he hadn't thought this idea out fully. Artemis seemed hot and cold; he didn't know what to expect from her at any given moment. What was he getting himself into?

* * *

His game was off for the rest of his shift as he remembered the cool touch of her kiss on his check and the way her throaty voice had reverberated in his ear. Soon, it was time to close up shop and he hurried through the motions, losing track of Johnny and Rebecca, their cocktail waitress. The two were sweet on each other, so he half expected them to be necking in the John.

What he did not expect, was to find their bodies in the alley out back, with Artemis feasting off of Rebecca's neck, her mouth red with blood and her face so contorted and dark that he wouldn't have recognized her if it weren't for her hair.

The garbage bags he was carrying clanged to the pavement and he instinctively backed up against the now closed door. The sound alerted Artemis to his presence and her head jerked up at an inhuman speed. The corners of her eyes were dark and crinkled and he'd never been so terrified in his life as he took in her now black eyes and pointed teeth, stained with blood.

He opened his mouth to scream but instantly she was in front of him, hand covering his mouth. He struggled to break free from her grip, but she was impossibly strong and held him firm. His eyes took in the sight of Johnny's motionless body on the ground and Rebecca squirming weakly next to him in pain. Wally looked back at Artemis. Her face was screwed up in concentration befre finally smoothing over, the darkness giving way to her natural features.

She gave him a hard look, but she seemed jumpy. "Is there anyone else in the joint besides you?" she asked.

He shook his head no. The owner had left as soon as the doors had closed, as had their door man. They were alone, no one to help him. His mind was reeling with the knowledge that she wasn't human and she had been drinking the blood of his two colleagues. He knew he had a snowball's chance in hell of getting out of this night alive.

She looked down at Johnny and Rebecca almost remorsefully. "His blood was calling to me all night," she murmured, hand still covering his mouth tightly. "You can't deny a craving like that, even if you want to." She whipped back around to face him. "Is your apartment close?"

He nodded and she did the same absentmindedly, her eyes staring out into space. "Here's what we're going to do," she said abruptly. Here she faced him dead on and looked straight into his eyes. "I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth. You're not going to scream, you're not going to think about trying to get away. You're going to walk me back to your apartment like everything is just fine."

She was doing something to him, hypnotizing him, and yet he could no nothing more as her spell took a hold of him. She slowly removed his hand and regarded him warily, but even as the urge to yell and back away from her took hold of him, he could do nothing. He could speak though.

"Are you going to kill me?" he choked out, wondering how this night has spiraled so far out of control. He should have never pried his way into her business earlier; maybe then he wouldn't be in this mess.

"I don't know," she replied, combining her off-putting answer with a seemingly soothing caress on his cheek. "You were so swell to me before, though I bet you regret it now that you've seen what kind of monster I am. I can't let you live if you know my secret, though." He gulped, the urge to run stronger than ever, but it was like his feet were glued to the ground. "But maybe there's another way…" she whispered, and he wasn't sure that he was meant to hear it. After a moment she seemed to come back to herself. "We need to make ourselves scarce. We don't want to be here when someone finds these two."

She grabbed the bar towel that was hanging out of his pocket and delicately wiped the blood off of her mouth. He watched, entranced that she could do it so casually, as if she was using a napkin at a dinner party. When she'd gotten all of the blood, she flung the towel away and took his hand. He flinched, and marveled over the fact that he felt a little bad when she noticed, her grey eyes momentarily filling with sadness.

They left the alley, Wally only looking back once at the bodies of his former co workers. Out on the streets of the city, no one gave them a second glance as he led her towards his place, probably just thinking they were two young lovers on their way home. At the corner before his apartment, there was a pair of coppers, and Artemis gripped his hand tightly, giving him a warning glance, but Wally couldn't even have called out to them. Whatever she had done to him had seen to that. She followed him into his building, and waited patiently while he opened the door to his room.

When she didn't walk into the room after him, he turned to look back at her.

"Invite me in," she commanded, looking deep into his eyes again.

"Come in," he said instantly, and she swept inside, slamming the door behind them and locking it up.

He wasn't expecting her sudden movement as she pushed him up against the door, pressing herself to him. This was it. She was going to kill him now that she had access to his apartment. He braced himself for her teeth on his neck, but it never came. Instead, he watched as she took her glove off and sunk her teeth into her own skin before holding out her bloody wrist to him.

"Wha-what are you doing?" he asked, beginning to panic.

"Drink," she ordered, shoving her wrist to his mouth.

"But, why—?"

"Just do it, Wally," Artemis snapped, forcing the bloodied bite over his mouth.

Her blood was cold and thick as it trickled into his mouth. He reluctantly swallowed it, coughing and sputtering as it stuck in his throat. She backed away and sighed deeply, running her hands over her face and muttering to herself. He still didn't know what was going on, but he thought it was a good time to make a case for himself.

"Look, Artemis," he started, once he'd stopped coughing. "I, I promise I won't tell anyone about, about what you are—"

"A vampire," she said quietly, crossing her arms. "And not the kind you're probably used to."

He swallowed, and continued, "Right. You have my word. Scout's honor."

She looked up at him sadly, sidling up to him. "I'm sorry, Wally," she said, sliding her hands up to cup his face, "but I've already made my decision."

He felt a strong jerk and then all there was was blackness.

* * *

When he woke up, it was like he could feel all of the molecules in his body tingling. He was lying on top of his bed with all of his clothes on, with no memory of how he'd gotten there. Across the room, Artemis sat at his kitchen table, legs crossed, watching him. When she saw that he was awake, she walked over to him and sat on the edge of his bed, a mug in her hand. Whatever was in it, it smelled delicious, but he had more pressing matters.

"What happened?" he asked her, propping himself up with his elbows.

"I snapped your neck," she answered casually, handing him the mug. It felt warm against his hand as he curled his fingers around it. "Drink this."

"Wha-, you, you what? You snapped my neck? How-how am I still alive then?" he stuttered, his mind reeling in confusion.

"You had my blood in your system," she told him, as if that explained it all. She gestured to the mug again. "Drink."

"What is it?" he asked, peering inside. The lighting in the room was terrible, so he couldn't see what color the liquid was.

"Human blood."

"What? Hu-human blood? Why would I drink human blood? Isn't that more your territory?" he asked before he could stop himself.

"You need to complete the transition or you'll die," she said, and it was like she was speaking a different language for all that Wally could understand her.

"What transition?" he all but yelled.

"The transition from human to vampire," she told him, and his eyes bugged out in alarm. He opened his mouth to protest but she took control, placing one hand over his on the mug and her other hand at the back of his neck and forcing the mug to his lips. She tipped the mug into his open mouth and forced his mouth shut, compelling him to swallow the warm blood. She let go of him and stood up from the bed, and he leaned over the edge and tried to spit up any blood that he could.

"That won't work," she said, turning away from him and dropping her knees, head in her hands. "It's done. You'll be like me now."

"Why?" he asked hoarsely. "Why would you do this to me?"

She said nothing, only sobbed into her hands, and through his terror and anger he thought of how lonely she'd looked when she'd walked in to Club 21, even with every eye on her. Had she been searching for her friends because she was lonely? Had she given up all hope of finding them and thought that maybe he would make a good substitute? He slumped back against his pillow, staring up at the ceiling, and felt a bit like crying himself. Would his life ever be the same again after this night?

* * *

_tbc_


	2. Part Two

**Part Two**

The clock above the mantle place was ticking incessantly, and it was the only sound that had filled the apartment in the last three days. With his new enhanced hearing, each tick seemed to dig deeper and deeper into his skull and he couldn't block out the sound it he wanted to. Across the room, although he couldn't see her since he'd been too busy staring up at the ceiling, Artemis sat at his kitchen table. He knew she was there because he could almost feel her piercing grey eyes on him. He hadn't spoken a word to her since she had forced human blood down his throat.

"You have to feed at some point," her husky voice penetrated the tense silence that hung in the room.

He didn't reply. He didn't even move a centimeter to acknowledge that he'd heard her. The dame (if she could even be called that) had been like a broken record the last few days; encouraging him to feed, pestering him with questions about how he was feeling, growling at him to talk to her. It was getting old really. Couldn't she get the hint?

Apparently not, because the next second he suddenly had a very annoyed Artemis straddling his waist, her beautiful but fierce face looming above his. He snarled, feeling something primal well up inside of him, and the urge to attack became too strong to ignore. He pushed at her shoulders and cast her off his body. She landed hard on the kitchen table which immediately collapsed at the force of her body on top of it.

She struggled to stand and he sped over to pin her up against the wall. She didn't attempt to remove herself from his grasp as he would have thought; instead, she looked up at him resignedly, his hands curling harshly around her shoulders.

"Do it, hit me, Wally," she rasped out. "It's nothing less than I deserve."

He glared down into her eyes and thought he saw something dark and twisted reflected in their grey depths. He turned his gaze to the side and that was when he saw it; In the mirror across the room, there was a dark creature holding Artemis' shoulders in a vice grip. Its face was a crisscross of veins, growing darker by the second, and it had eyes as black as the night coupled with vicious fangs.

It took Wally a long moment to recognize the creature in the mirror as himself.

In shock, he looked back down at Artemis and his hands clutching her shoulders. Instantly, he removed them, taking a step back in horror. What was he doing? This wasn't him. When had he ever laid a hand on a dame before, vampire or not?

Frantically, Wally rubbed at his face, practically clawing it in his haste to get it back to normal. He felt a light touch against his cheek but squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't need to see the look in her eyes as she confronted the monster that she'd made. But Artemis didn't pressure him to open his eyes; instead, he felt her gentle fingers combing through his hair as she made comforting shushing noises.

"Relax, Wally," she murmured. "You have to relax or it won't go away."

He swallowed his dry throat and took a deep unnecessary breath. He concentrated on his enhanced sense of smell. There was a faint odor coming from his closet where he knew his dirty laundry sat in a pile. He could also smell that the milk in his fridge was now spoiled, not that he could drink it anymore. There was even the crispy, piney scent of the freshly splintered wood of his kitchen table. His apartment was awash in different odors and aromas.

He opened his eyes and looked towards the mirror again. His face was back to normal, his green eyes seeming brighter than ever compared to their previous darkness. He turned back to Artemis who still had her hands cupping his head. He felt no desire to pull away, but his mind was reeling with questions.

"What am I?" he asked, his voice hoarse from lack of use. He knew, of course, what he was, and yet, there was so much that he didn't know.

"You're a vampire," Artemis replied, sliding her hands down to cradle his face. "You'll never be sick again. You're at the top of the food chain. You're one of the immortal. As long as you don't get staked or walk out into the sunlight, you'll stay just like this: young forever. You're faster than any human on the planet; stronger, too. And you'll never, ever have to be the victim again," she added in a whisper, her eyes looking into his but somehow past him as if she was lost in her memories.

He nodded numbly, mesmerized by her words. All of his life he'd thought of himself as an ordinary joe, sure that his life would bring no surprises and that he would live out his days in a state of perpetual waiting; waiting for something exciting to happen, something that would shake the very foundations of what made him Wally West. Well, you sure got your wish, he thought wryly.

"I'm sorry about before," he told her, gesturing to his broken kitchen table. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's completely normal," she reassured him. "As a new vampire, your emotions are heightened. You were angry at me when I jumped you, and rightly so."

She dropped her hands and cast her gaze down at the floor. Wally hated that he was so weak when it came to her, but it was a crying shame for a dame as beautiful as Artemis to be sad.

He lifted her chin with his index finger and her eyes flew up to his. He had to know one thing. "Why?" he asked. "Why did you turn me?" He thought he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear her say it.

She seemed wary. "I already told you why," she reminded him. "It was either that or kill you."

"You didn't seem to have any qualms about takin' out Johnny and Rebecca," he argued, giving her a challenging eyebrow. He just wanted her to say the words and he would leave her be. Wally felt like she needed to admit them to herself. When did I become a goddamn therapist? he thought idly.

Her grey eyes grew hard, though. "What, you want me to tell you I'm in love with you or something?" she asked him. The blonde laughed harshly, tearing out of his grasp and walking away from him. "In your dreams, pal."

Wally sighed. "Nevermind, babe," he said, shaking his head. "What now? The coppers'll be knockin' down my door any second. They probably think I killed Johnny and Rebecca."

Artemis, with her back still to him, shook her head. "Don't call me babe. And, don't worry, I took care of it. Their bodies are at the bottom of the Hudson and your boss thinks they ran away together to elope."

"How did you do that, babe?" Wally asked, knowing he was being incredibly annoying.

"I used compulsion on him," she said, finally turning around to face him. "Another swell thing about being a vamp is mind control. Like the other night when I made you bring me here. You wanted to fight it, but you couldn't, yeah?"

"Sounds familiar," Wally mumbled, sheepish at the thought of being in her thrall. "Can you, can you teach me how to do that?"

She smiled. It was a tiny smile, but a smile nonetheless, and the effect was dazzling. "Yes, I can," she told him. "All that and more, Wally. The most important thing I will teach you how to do is feed, which we have to do soon. The longer you wait, the more animalistic you'll become."

Wally grimaced. Maybe he just wasn't used to the idea yet, but the thought of feeding on people, killing them, repulsed him. His body, which felt like it was no longer his own, responded to the notion of feeding, however. Something welled up in him again, a different urge this time than the one to attack. It wasn't unlike the hunger pains he'd felt as a human, but it was stronger; a more ferocious need than he'd ever felt before.

Light, unsteady footsteps sounded in the hallway outside his apartment and both his and Artemis' heads turned in tandem to the door. In an instant, Artemis sped to the door, flung it open, and pulled the unsuspecting person inside. Wally didn't recognize the young woman, but it was plain to see what with her bright red lipstick and cheap, tawdry clothing that she was a quiff. As Artemis closed her hand over the girl's mouth, Wally idly remembered that Mr. Jackson down the hall frequently had such "guests" over. He regarded her warily as Artemis forced the girl to make eye contact.

"My friend Wally here is hungry," Artemis told her, her voice low and persuasive. "You're going to let him feed off of you, and you're not going to scream or struggle or anything. In fact, you're not going to make a sound, you got that?"

Wally watched as the girl nodded obediently as if in a trance. Artemis lowered her hand and ushered the girl over to him. Once in front of him, she pulled the prostitute's coiffed hair behind her shoulders, and it was then that Wally's senses bombarded him. He could hear the blood rushing through the girl's veins, could hear her heart pumping blood faster and faster. The scent of her blood assaulted his nostrils, and he didn't need a mirror to know that his face had grown dark again. Somehow, he knew what to do, like it was instinctual; part of him was still there to make one request before he dove in, however.

"Promise you won't let me kill her," he growled, talking to Artemis but looking at the girl. Her blue eyes gazed back at him, but were unfocused and dull.

"Why not?" Artemis asked, and he managed to turn to look at her even through his bloodlust. "She's a chippy, a slut. No one's gonna miss her."

"Just promise me," Wally repeated firmly.

Artemis crossed her arms disgruntledly. "Fine, I promise," she said, sounding bored. "Now, feed."

Gladly, Wally thought. Faster than he would have believed possible, he was on top of the girl, cradling her head in his hands. He angled it away from him, leaving her neck perfectly exposed. His eyes were so sharp that he could see the pulse of her blood go through her neck and that's exactly where he buried his fangs an instant later. Her hot blood filled his mouth and he drank it down greedily, fully giving himself over to his primal side. It was delicious, and he wanted more and more, and he could feel himself becoming satiated, and yet he couldn't stop.

"Wally."

He ignored her, and instead continued to suck even harder, her blood flowing down his throat in a steady flow. The girl was growing weaker and weaker in his arms, barely able to keep standing, but he hardly noticed. Not for nothing though, was Artemis one hell of a bearcat. In an instant, she tore Wally away from the girl, leaving him gasping, putting herself in between him and the girl.

He snarled in anger and she fell into a crouch, ready to fight him if need be. "I normally wouldn't get in the way of a predator and his prey," she quipped, "But you made me promise, and I never go back on a promise."

His rational side was slowly but surely returning. The sight of the chippy collapsing onto his apartment floor might have helped a little. He scrunched his face up in concentration until he was sure it was back to normal. Once Artemis trusted that he could control herself, she dropped her guard and knelt beside the girl. Wally heard her sigh before she bit into her wrist, propping the girl's head up and putting her bleeding wrist to it.

"W-what are you doing?" Wally asked, eyes widening, wiping remnants of the girl's blood off his mouth. "You're making her a vampire, too?"

"Don't get jealous, Wallman," she told him, enunciating this pet name sarcastically. "I'm only feeding her my blood to heal her. She'll only become a vampire if she somehow happens to die within the next 24 hours."

His mouth formed a wide 'O' at this and he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. He definitely hadn't been jealous. Not in the slightest. They waited patiently for the girl regain consciousness.

"How do you feel?" she asked after a moment.

He considered this. He felt stronger, more alert. His senses were even sharper than they'd been before. He told all of this to Artemis and she nodded.

"Human blood strengthens us to our full capacity," she explained. "Some vampires, the saps, choose to feed on animal blood, but it's nowhere near as good."

"If the alternative is this, I can see why," Wally said, gesturing to the chippy.

"I still don't understand why you won't just kill her," Artemis muttered, glancing up at him. "She's hardly an innocent."

"It wouldn't be right," Wally reasoned, wondering why she couldn't see this. "Am I supposed to be a cold-hearted SOB now just because my heart doesn't beat anymore?"

Artemis shrugged. "It happens to all of us after we've been turned," she simply said. "We lose sight of our humanity. Humans become nothing more than food."

He didn't believe that about her for one second. She would have killed him without a second thought if that was true. "Well, it ain't gonna happen to me, sweetheart," Wally said confidently, watching as the chippy began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open and Wally nudged his chin to Artemis in the girl's direction.

Immediately, Artemis slapped a hand over the girl's mouth, holding her struggling body down. She arched an eyebrow at Wally expectantly. "Would you like to learn how to compel her?" she asked.

"What, now?" he blurted out, becoming unreasonably nervous at the prospect. What if he wasn't good at it and embarrassed himself in front of her.

"No time like the present," she drawled, blinking up at him innocently.

"I guess I can take a crack at it," he said, kneeling down on the hardwood floor next to her.

"Now keep your mind clear," she instructed, moving to allow him to sit right in front of the girl. Her blue eyes were terrified now, and Wally gulped, staring at the blood on her neck guiltily. "Focus," Artemis snapped at him. "Look deep into her eyes. You'll know when you can start compelling her."

It was exactly like feeding; he acted entirely on instinct. As he gazed into her eyes, something in his mind seemed to hook onto hers. She was like a blank piece of paper, ready for him to write all over. "You left your client's house and went straight home," he told her, making his voice low and calm like he'd witnessed Artemis doing. "You never saw us, you won't remember this encounter, okay, dollface?" he asked. She nodded vacantly. "Now, you're going to get up, walk out the door, and forget this ever happened."

He broke his hold over her and watched as, to his astonishment, she rose from the floor, walked to the door, opened it, and left, closing it behind her. He grinned triumphantly at Artemis, who half smiled back at him.

"Not bad," she said, standing up and straightening her clothes.

Wally looked up at her thoughtfully, and stood as well. She caught him staring and raised an eyebrow. "May I help you?"

"Why did you turn me?" he asked again, hoping that she would see the answer herself.

"I already told you-"

"Lay off, sweetheart," he interrupted. "You could have compelled me to forget you just as easily as I did her."

"So? What are you saying?" she asked defensively.

He was in front of her in an instant, enjoying the speed that came with this new life. She didn't move and he cupped her cheek in his hand. "I'm sayin' that I think you've been lonely for a long time, babe, and that's why you turned me," he told her. "You saw somethin' in me, same as I did in you."

She was silent for a long moment, looking up at him with those mysterious grey eyes of hers. He wished he could compel her to tell him the truth, but somehow he knew that was impossible. "If you're trying to turn this into some kinda love story, you're going to be disappointed, Wally," she said quietly. "Vampires don't fall in love, especially not vampires like me."

He studied her carefully, trying to see if she was bluffing, but she seemed completely closed off. He sighed. "If you say so," he said, dropping his hands. "Lookie here, doll, it ain't just you all out there on your own now. I know you've been tryin' to find your friends and I can help. I guess what I'm tryin' to say is, you've got me...If you want me that is," he added as an afterthought. Maybe she'd just made him on a whim, fully expecting to drop him whenever she wanted. He couldn't say the thought didn't make him sad.

A playful gleam came into her eye. She looked amused at his stuttered monologue. "Well, I made you," she mused, "So I guess I'm stuck with you."

"Looks like it," he agreed, giving her a wink. He wouldn't push her anymore tonight. Another time, maybe, as they got to know each other more. "So, what's next? Where do we start looking for your friends, who I'm gonna go out on a limb and say are vampires too."

"Well, we have to give you a little time to adjust, so you'll be staying indoors for a while," Artemis told him. He nodded, although he was anxious to get out there and make use of all his new powers. "We can keep looking here, but I have a feeling the two fellas are in Chicago."

"How'd you catch wind of them being there?" he asked her.

He saw her hesitate. "You hear about all those killings there? How they can't find the killer but their throats are always slashed so viciously?"

He nodded. He'd read in the papers about the man they were calling The Ripper, a ruthless killer who had all of Chicago running scared.

"I think, I think that it's Stefan who's doing it," she said slowly. Wally's eyes widened in shock and Artemis hurried on. "And if I know Damon, he won't be too far away from his little brother, and Damon is the one that we really want."

"And what exactly do we want him for?" he asked, idly remembering his jealousy from the other evening at the thought of one of the brothers being her beau.

"Let's just say that he can help me acquire something that will be mutually beneficial for you and me," she told him, walking passed to start cleaning up the remains of the kitchen table.

"You're one cryptic dame, you know that?" he asked, striding over to help her.

He saw the smirk on her lips. "It's part of my charm," she said, throwing the scraps of wood into his fireplace.

He rolled his eyes at her, mulling over everything that had happened in the last 72 hours. Maybe it still hadn't fully hit him yet, just how much his life was going to change, but he found that he didn't care. He'd come to the Big Apple seeking fame and fortune, but in reality, he'd wanted out of his small town, a break from the monotony. He'd craved adventure, excitement, maybe even a little danger.

And if becoming a vampire wasn't all three, he didn't know what was.

* * *

_tbc_


End file.
